NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Dec. 5) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team traveled north to battle Westminster in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup on Wednesday. Despite playing without leading scorer Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington), the Yellow Jackets were still able to knock off the Titans 81-75.
 
Waynesburg (3-5, 2-1) was able to overcome Popeck's absence thanks to a balanced scoring attack that was spearheaded by junior wing Brennan Smith (New Cumberland, W.Va. / Oak Glen). Smith went off for a personal collegiate-best 28 points. He shot eight-of-15 from the floor and nailed down three-of-four three-point attempts. Smith was also productive from the free throw line, where he connected on nine-of-11 tries.
 
Smith was one of four double-digit scorers for the Yellow Jackets Fellow junior Frank Bozicevic (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) added 17 points to the winning effort, while first-year senior Jake Dougherty (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) made good use of his first start of the season by pouring in 16 points.
 
Senior wing Nate Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) came off the bench to offer support in the form of 13 points, nine of which came on three made three-pointers.
 
The Yellow Jackets came out of the gates firing with Smith, Dougherty and Bozicevic all knocking down treys within the first 2:24 to give the visiting team an early 9-3 lead. Sophomore center Ben Vitovich (Johnstown, Pa. / Bishop McCort) followed with a basket at the 2:56 mark of the contest to extend the advantage to 11-3.
 
Waynesburg led for the entirety of the first half. An old-fashioned three-point play by Smith with 8:31 showing on the clock grew the advantage to a game-high 16 points (32-16). However, the Titans (4-5, 2-1) showed no interest in being blown out in front of their home crowd. The Blue and White closed the opening period on a 21-9 run that pulled them to within four points (31-27) of the lead at the break.
 
Westminster opened the second half with back-to-back field goals that tied the game at 41-41, before Dougherty responded with a three-pointer that gave the lead back to the Orange and Black at 44-41.
 
The Titans took their first lead roughly six minutes into the half with a three-pointer that put them ahead 47-46. The final 14-plus minutes of the contest played out in a back-and-forth fashion. Heading into the final minute, Waynesburg was clinging to a one-point lead.
 
However, Smith capped his monster night with his final three-pointer to put the Jackets ahead 76-72 with 28 seconds remaining in the contest. The Titans eventually pulled to within three points with 14 seconds showing on the clock, but free throws by Vitovich and Gearhart sewed up the win.
 
"This was a terrific response from our team tonight," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "It's tough to win on the road, but our mentality was on point. I really enjoyed watching our guys and the way they played tonight."
 
Along with his game-high 28 points, Smith added a contest-best nine rebounds and a block to the victory. Dougherty and Bozicevic chipped in seven and six boards, respectively. Waynesburg was solid in the passing game as well, putting up 17 assists to Westminster's nine. Bozicevic and junior Cam Auld (North Huntingdon, Pa. / Norwin) tied for the game lead with four assists, while Vitovich dropped off three helpers of his own.
 
The Jackets showcased a more efficient offense, hitting on 41.5 percent of their field goals and 54.5 percent of its three-point tries. They held the Titans to 30.2 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from long range.
 
Waynesburg is back on the road Saturday, when it travels to Geneva. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.